Opportunities to play any of those communal outdoor games that groups of kids played back in the days before cell phones didn’t come my way very often in my pre-adolescent years. Our little family farm was in the country, and unless some cousins came to visit, it was just my brother and me, and we mainly applied our energy to fighting over things and arguing with one another. But occasionally I had a chance to join in with six or eight other kids in town and play those kinds of games that involved a lot of running, yelling, and hiding from one another.
Back then, we didn’t have a bunch of freakish perverts and predators stalking kids, so we could run around all over the neighborhood until dark. Those were priceless days full of innocence and fun, and though I wasn’t thinking about God at all at the time, He was planting the seeds of many lessons in those days that wouldn’t emerge until much later. Among them was the realization that our love of hiding things can become an issue with serious implications.
As all of us know all too well that moving beyond elementary school may change the rules of the game a bit, but our love of hide and seek lives on. If you ever doubt that, just check out
how many books and movies fall into the “who-done-it” category. Or, even better, take an honest look at the nefarious games of hide and seek going on in the upper levels of our polarized, politicized, hyper-sensitized culture. Fresh accusations of shenanigans done in secret, allegations of cover ups, and claims of bombshell discoveries seem to be coming out of the woodwork. Grownup versions of hide and seek have apparently become the hottest game in town and the new national pastime.
Questions about who’s hiding what – from whom and why – do cry out for answers, but we’ll leave those political mud-slinging matches to those who seem to enjoy such things. My concerns about playing grownup hide and seek are more focused on the ones with spiritual implications, not the political ones. Engaging in spiritual hide and seek has far greater potential for detrimental impact on us individually and nationally than anything we ever do politically.
The history of this game goes back to the very beginning. It was the first game ever conceived and practiced by human beings, and it was important enough for God to offer a documentary on it. One of the things we notice right away is that it begins differently from the ones we played as children. With us, the game began with someone hiding something, then the rest of us went looking for it. In God’s account, the game began when the devil deceived Eve and enticed her and Adam to seek something God had forbidden. Once they obtained it, everything changed and the game was on. This is how God recorded what followed next:
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?” So he said, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself.” (Genesis 3:7–10 NKJV)
Disobedience unleashed a flood of emotions they had never experienced. Fear of God replaced love for Him, and awareness of being totally exposed filled them with shame. When covering 
their bodies wasn’t enough, they tried to hide among the trees. But the One who sees and knows everything came looking – and He found them. That’s what sin does. That’s what spiritual hide and seek looks like, and because the pattern hasn’t changed, there are lessons we can learn and apply all these years later.
But before we point out a couple of them, there are a couple more prominent examples worth mentioning. One took place soon after God’s covenant people entered the land He had promised to give them. The city of Jericho was a major obstacle confronting them, but God orchestrated a battle plan that defied all military protocols. His directions were strange, but God was clear that they were not to be altered in any way. One of His directives was that no one was to take any of the “spoils of battle.” All the valuables left in the city were consecrated as belonging to God. Everyone knew the rule, but one man reached out to take what God had forbidden.
He seemed to get away with it for a while, but the God who sees and knows everything came looking for him. God informed Joshua that one man’s sin had cost Israel many lives and a systematic search was undertaken. Soon the culprit, Achan, was identified. Here’s what he had to say:
And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done: When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.” (Joshua 7:20–21 NKJV)
The cost of playing hide and seek with God is a game we cannot win, and as expected, it didn’t work out so well for Achan and his family. They not only lost the treasure they coveted, they
lost their lives as well. And they weren’t the last ones to learn the hard way that spiritual hide and seek is a game we don’t want to play. There’s another event much later that, in some ways, reminds us of Joshua’s account in the early days of Israel’s conquest of Canaan.
Moving hundreds of years ahead, the resurrected Christ had ascended and the New Testament Church had been born at Pentecost. Thousands had been redeemed, and the followers of Jesus were displaying the sacrificial love He had given them and demonstrating His compassion by sharing their provisions with those who had need. As others had done before them, a couple announced (perhaps in an ostentatious way) that they had sold a property and were giving it all to help others. It was a generous thing to do, but not as generous as they made it sound, because they kept back [concealed/hid] part of the proceeds for themselves:
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. (Acts 5:1–2 NKJV)
But the God who sees everything unveiled the hidden secret to Peter, and it went like this:
Then Ananias, hearing these words, fell down and breathed his last. (Acts 5:5 NKJV)
Reaching out for what God has forbidden is easy in this hedonistic, anti-Christian culture 
surrounding us. Almost everything God has forbidden is readily accessible and old temptations abound … like, everybody does it; no one will notice; I’ll just indulge myself and keep it hidden. Let me assure you, it will work out just as well for you as it does for all who play hide and seek with God.
In Joshua’s day, one man’s sin brought defeat to the whole nation. Looking at the widespread anarchy and moral corruption characterizing our nation, in spite of the number of churches we have, makes me wonder if some of that may be going on now. Perhaps it’s time, in a spiritual context, to ask ourselves those simple questions we alluded to in the beginning. “What am I hiding?” “From whom am I hiding it?” and “Why?” Honestly asking those questions can lead to cleansing, renewal, and freedom. And it can redirect our hiding skills toward “hiding His word in our heart” (Psalm 119:11), and our seeking skills toward “seeking first the Kingdom of God…” (Matthew 6:32-33)
“TWEETABLES” ~ Click to Tweet & Share from the pull quotes below. Each quote links directly to this article through Twitter.
-
-
- “My concerns about grownup hide and seek are more focused on the ones w/spiritual, not political, implications. Engaging in spiritual hide and seek has far greater potential for detrimental impact on us individually and nationally than anything we ever do politically.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “The One who sees and knows everything came looking for Adam and Eve – and He found them. That’s what sin does. That’s what spiritual hide and seek looks like, and because the pattern hasn’t changed, there are lessons we can learn and apply all these years later.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “The cost of playing hide and seek with God is a game we cannot win, and as expected, it didn’t work out so well for Achan and his family. They not only lost the treasure they coveted, they lost their lives as well. They weren’t the last ones to learn the hard way.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
- “Thousands were redeemed at Pentecost, and the followers of Jesus were displaying the sacrificial love He had given them and demonstrating His compassion by sharing their provisions with those who had need.” @GallaghersPen (Click here to Tweet)
-
Check out Ron’s book, “Right Side Up Thinking in an Upside Down World ~ Looking at the World through the Lens of Biblical Truth” 
Gallagher's Pen ~ 
This is a wonderful analogy, Ron, as always. We should all ask ourselves, “Am I hiding something from God? Why would I even think I could get away with it?”
God does see all and knows all. When we “hide” things from Him, we’re only fooling ourselves.
I do how you ended describing how we should be hiding and seeking. How I wish more folks would practice this in their lives, but where we need to start is with us.
Blessings, my friend!
LikeLike
Always wonderful to see your name in my inbox, Martha, and I love your very relevant question about trying to hide things from God., “Why would I even think i could get away with it?” The truth, as you alluded to it, is that we’re really trying to hide from ourselves and avoid facing the obvious truth that we don’t want to give up those sins we’ve learned to love and protect. The other picture we tend to forget is that God made it clear that the devil is playing a seeking game as well. Like a roaring lion, the devil roams the earth “seeking whom he may devour.” But thank God, there are faithful Gospel warriors like you who help expose the lies and dispel the darkness with the eternal Truth. May God continue to inspire and empower you my distant friend.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hide and seek. That game was never as much fun with my two half-brothers than it was to tussle and wrestle with them. Although, I was skinny little runt when young and used to always be on the losing end of things. 🙂 Payback came though when we all moved to Florida and they learned (the hard way) how hard I could throw an orange or a grapefruit, Alas, it’s time to leave the past and concentrate on the key message of the present and future.
What a great message this morning sir. We can turn to any news outlet or media bastion, right or left, progressive or supposed conservative, and we see the principles of hide and seek being carried out in more nefarious ways than perhaps ever before in history. Two decades ago, I would watch the news and realize that the two political pundits talking were on opposite ends of the political spectrum and that the truth was found somewhere in the middle. Three decades ago, those two sides would endeavor to meet in that middle and find a common position that would move things forward. Today, we find these sides, although claiming to be on opposite ends of the spectrum, they are manipulating those same media outlets and “anti-social” media to blind, confuse, and hide the truth from those even in their own political parties. It is no longer about right or left, conservative values or progressivism, it’s about how can I gain the most for me; how my I get re-elected so that I can accept more in graft and fatten my own ill-gotten pockets rather than how can I serve my country and those who I deceived into electing me. Like the American people themselves, those elected officials are focused on serving themselves more than others. Many of us see that because we see that same mindset in ourselves. We choose to ignore it because we’re so busy being that gerbil on a wheel ourselves, focused on what we can gain, not how we can help one another.
Now, let me step down from my soapbox, scrape the nastiness off of me, and focus on what I think was most important. Your convicting point that we can’t play hide and seek with God. He ALWAYS finds us. So, if we know this, then who are we actually playing hide and seek with? I believe it is with ourselves. If we’re unsaved, then we are hiding ourselves from that God-sized hole in our lives and seeking to fill it with the things of this world. Not surprising, nothing ever quite fits. If we’re claiming to be saved, although we sure not living like it, we try to hide our real selves from everyone around us and use that moniker of Christian to our advantage to gain those worldly things. How does that look? “Oh, look at that beautiful cross that salesman hanging in his office. Isn’t that family photo of the wife and kids cute? He is so trustworthy.” A week after his makes the sale, you go shopping Wal-Mart and exclaim, “Hey, wait a minute, I saw that same woman and two kids in that picture frame on that guy’s last week.!”
If we’re true Christians, but still early (or immature) in our walk, then we try to hide that sin that still resides in our hearts, because we haven’t fully surrendered ourselves to the Holy Spirit and His work in our lives. We may struggle with letting it go because we are convicted by it, but we’re afraid to let it go because WE LIKE IT TOO MUCH. That’s perhaps the most dangerous game. You’re attempting to hide, but God isn’t the only one seeking you. He knows where you’re at and what you’re hiding. Satan on the other hand, knows this too, but He is doing his best to convince you that you’re winning the game of hide and seek. He does so by telling you lies like, “But you’re covered by grace. You have a license to sin now, there’s no penalty.” or “God is so busy with so many others, He doesn’t even know you exist. He’s focused on more important things.”
As we mature as Christians, we begin to learn that the hide and seek game is for chumps. We listen to the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit and we heed His warnings. We confess our sins and seek forgiveness through our desire for true repentance. Hiding only delays the inevitable. My fear as a Christian is that even though I know my sins (past, present, and future) are forgiven, I fear that my present won’t be a clean slate when the Day arrives and my current sins will cost me rewards to lay at my Savior’s feet.
Another heartfelt, passion-filled post that was filled with hard truths, presented in your always gentle way Mr. Ron. Thank you sir and God’s blessings upon you and your family.
LikeLike
I can relate to being a skinny little kid, Brother, ’cause that’s how I started out. But I feel a little disappointed that I never got to develop the kind of throwing arm that you did. But aside from that, I’m sitting here in Middle Tennessee enjoying that familiar sense of gratitude and encouragement for the insights you share. Mrs. Diane and I always rejoice in how God has gifted you to relate so clearly those insights He gives you and how you challenge us to join you in striving to live them out. My prayer is that there are more people in this land who react like you do to the godless anarchy engulfing us and that more and more will stand up and speak out against it.
Along those lines, we are shouting “Amens” re. the way you see through the exercise in mass manipulation that almost every newscast turns out to be. So often, trying to figure out what’s really going on with whom and who’s lying about what in this country feels like an exercise in frustration and futility. But one thing is clearly and eternally true. That is that God didn’t establish political parties as His agents to confront evil, counteract lies, and expose hypocrisy. That belongs to the Church of Jesus Christ. That’s not to discount our obligation to engage in the political process and to do what we can to oppose placing more fools and idiots in positions of power and authority, but as both of us know all too well, sin is the root cause of our misery both personally and nationally. We can’t cast a ballot and vote sin out of the hearts and minds of anyone. While the Constitution is an amazing document and one that I’m convinced God blessed and directed, justice and righteousness did not originate with it. The power to repel evil and to ensure our welfare both now and forever abides in the One who spoke the world into existence, and who died to secure our redemption.
Thank you again for blessing us with that energizing sense of gratitude and encouragement that comes with the responses you send and the things you write. I don’t know if you’ll ever be aware in this world how much God uses you to strengthen your friends and fans like us, but my Diane and I pray that He will send a load of that kind of spiritual boost along to you and your beloved wife. We pray daily that God will respond powerfully to the faith both of you have and that He will increase it even more. May God richly bless and provide for you, your Diane, Mr. John, and everyone involved at the Cross-Dubya. And in spite of everything, we’re still gonna hope that one of these days we get to say “Howdy” face to face.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s funny sir, but I share those very same thoughts about you with my Ms. Diane. You are right, we can never vote in righteousness and godly values, there’s too many who don’t have those traits running for election or casting votes. Still, we have an obligation to speak out as much as we have an obligation to vote our values. If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain. LOL
Thanks for encouraging me with your words my friend. We can stand because of men like you, whose shoulders we stand upon. God’s blessings sir.
LikeLike
Amen X10, Brother–we’ll hang in there together and bring as many along with us as we can. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person